In the past, a roll forming machine uses a plurality of vertically aligned power rotated longitudinally spaced pairs of complemental rolls and a gear train for rotating the rolls in unison. Such machines have included a motor drive with a power transmission connected thereto and with some means for connecting the transmission to the gear train for rotating all of the roll spindles in unison.
Previously for machines of this type, a series of rolls are mounted upon corresponding vertically aligned power rotated spaced pairs of spindles. Various efforts have been made for selectively transmitting power intermittently to the gear train for driving the spindles and connected rolls in unison in order to successively and opertively receive and feed therebetween elongated strips of stock.
In such machines, different forming operations require a different set of forming rolls. It has been necessary to modify or replace the opposed pairs of rolls that are arranged in a set or a plurality of sets along the bed of the machine. Considerable time and labor are required to replace the sets of rolls.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,129, assigned to the assignee of record, a plurality of sets of multiple tool rolls have been provided with a turret mount therefore whereby up to four sets of rolls may be selectively presented as the feed path for the work pieces. Means are provided for incrementally rotating the turret and the corresponding multiple tooling in 90 degree segments so as to expose a different set of tooling for a different forming procedure.
Previously, with machines of this type and for a change in the tooling and for substituting one set of tooling for another set of tooling, a series of vertically aligned power rotated longitudinally spaced pairs of complemental spindles and rolls have been mounted upon a raft plate which is removably positioned upon the bed of the machine. The raft plate and its tooling may be replaced by other tooling mounted upon another raft plate by employing a suitable crane with a lift hook and chains. This provides another means by which the tooling of the machine can be rapidly changed without disturbing the setting of the first tooling.